Vikings RB Adrian Peterson talks to the media in front of his locker as the Minnesota Vikings player pack up at the end of the season on Monday morning January 7, 2013 at Winter Park in Eden Prairie. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson vowed to keep his foot on the accelerator at the Pro Bowl, most likely to the chagrin of AFC defenders responsible for tackling the NFL's leading rusher in Hawaii.

A year removed from reconstructive knee surgery Peterson knows only maximum speed.

"I'm going to play hard," Peterson said Monday, Jan. 7. "It is hard for me to play down because when you play down you put yourself in jeopardy of getting hurt going through the motions. So I won't be playing down."

Pro Bowl players notoriously dial down the intensity to reduce the risk of injury. Still, the game has high stakes for players -- $50,000 bonuses for the winners versus $25,000 for the losers.

"They don't allow you to blitz, which I think that's pretty cool," Peterson said. "But toward that third and fourth quarter, guys kind of pick it up. There's money on the line, so guys realize that and understand that. It's fun for the fans, but you've still got to be smart. Me personally, I don't care how anyone else approaches, I'm going to play hard."

Peterson became only the seventh NFL running back to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Falling just short of the all-time record did not sting as much as losing to the Packers 24-10 in Saturday's wild-card playoff game.

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Nor should it diminish his accomplishment, Peterson said, acknowledging the 9-yard-long sign one Green Bay fan erected near Lambeau Field last week to needle him about coming oh-so-close to history.

"It just shows me how people aren't pleased. Me personally, I don't try to please people," he said. "But that is a good example; a lot of people making comments, 'Oh, you're nine yards short.'

"For me, to get that record would have been a bonus. I didn't feel any type of mental pain or hurt until Sunday after the Green Bay game when I didn't ... nine yards short? Yeah, it sucks, but I felt pain and hurt to the core once we lost to Green Bay."